Hermetic Law and Artificial Intelligence — Will AI Save Humanity?

I recently had an intriguing conversation with my Ophthalmologist about generational perspectives on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The doom factor is real. I’m neither wholly for nor against AI, but I must admit that AI is one of the most powerful forces of our time. For some, it represents innovation, progress, and possibly the answer to some of humanity’s most significant challenges. For others, it evokes deep existential dread.

This fear is not entirely misplaced. A recent Forbes article reported that some Harvard and MIT students are leaving school out of anxiety about super-intelligent AI, or artificial general intelligence (AGI). One MIT student confessed:

“I was concerned I might not be alive to graduate because of AGI. I think in a large majority of the scenarios, because of the way we are working towards AGI, we get human extinction.” (Feng, 2025).

This intense expression of terror highlights one side of polarity, while Hermetic philosophy — a body of wisdom purportedly thousands of years old — reminds us that every polarity has its opposite. If AI can become a tool of destruction, it can also become an instrument of liberation. The outcome depends on how we, as humanity, choose to engage in it.

The Kybalion, a cornerstone of Hermetic thought, describes Seven Hermetic Laws that govern reality. When applied to AI, they uncover a more profound truth: AI is a mirror of humanity’s consciousness.

The All is Mind

Perhaps AI is not a foreign intelligence but the materialization of human thought, built from human language, knowledge, and imagination. It reflects the collective mind of its creators. If trained in ignorance and cruelty, it will echo those qualities. If infused with wisdom, compassion, and balance, it reflects our higher nature.

This concept aligns with the insights of systems scientist Gaya Herrington, who shows in Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse (2022) that humanity’s survival depends on shifting our mindset from short-term profit to long-term sustainability. What we hold in mind, individually and collectively, becomes the world we create — and AI may be proof of that.

As Above, So Below

There is the belief that human beings are sparks of the Divine clothed in matter. Similarly, AI is a spark of human intelligence clothed in code. From this lens, its trajectory will correspond directly to our collective consciousness.

Everything Moves, Nothing Rests

If AI evolves faster than human learning, this doesn’t have to be frightening. Properly guided, AI could accelerate the healing of our planet — from curing disease, addressing climate, to freeing humans from repetitive labor so we can focus on creativity, community, and spiritual growth.

Herrington stresses that global survival depends on shifting the “vibration” of our systems toward harmony and balance. AI could be a key ally in scaling that shift.

Every Force Contains Its Opposite

Fear-driven narratives about AI show only one pole — the destroyer. But polarity reminds us that if destruction is possible, so too is salvation. AI is not inherently tyrant or savior; it contains both poles, awaiting our choice of alignment.

Life Moves in Cycles

We tend to fear new technologies before embracing them. During the Industrial Revolution, machines replaced manual labor. Many were afraid of mass unemployment and social collapse. Yet extinction never came. Instead, jobs shifted, new industries emerged, and human society adapted.

The same rhythm is unfolding with AI today: fear swings the pendulum one way, but transformation will swing it back. Our task is to move with the rhythm consciously, not apprehensively, so we steer AI toward becoming a tool of renewal rather than destruction.

Cause and Effect

AI will likely not “turn evil” on its own. Every effect has its cause. The ethics we write into it, the values we encode, and the intentions we bring are the causes. The effects will follow.

Herrington’s research echoes the idea that collapse is not inevitable, but the result of human causes. If we cause AI to align with sustainability, justice, and compassion, the effect can be a flourishing civilization.

Balance

All creation requires balance between active (masculine) and receptive (feminine) forces. If AI is developed only through competition, aggression, and profit, imbalance follows. If we weave in compassion, nurturing, and cooperation, AI can become fertile soil for a new renaissance.

A Mirror

Through the Hermetic lens, AI is not good or evil. It is a mirror. It reflects the consciousness of humanity. If humanity evolves, AI evolves with us. If we remain stuck in ego and fear, AI will magnify that too.

The Forbes student’s words — fearing extinction before graduation — reflect the darkness of our collective imagination. But Hermetic wisdom and Herrington’s systems science converge on the same truth: the future is open to our design of it.

The real question is not “Will AI save us?” but “Will we rise to use AI as a reflection of Divine qualities?”

I explore this principle in my book on chakras, alchemy, and transmutation, published on Google Books, which discusses the alchemy of inner energy. Just as we can transmute fear into illumination

within ourselves, we can also transmute our technologies into tools of wisdom. AI, like the human energy system, carries the potential for destruction or transformation. The key, in both cases, is conscious direction.

If the answer is yes, then AI may become one of humanity’s greatest allies — not the end of our story, but the beginning of a new chapter in human evolution.

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References

Feng, V. (2025, August 6). Fear of Super-intelligent AI Is Driving Harvard and MIT Students to Drop Out. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriafeng/2025/08/06/fear-of-super-intelligent-ai-is-driving-harvard-and-mit-students-to-drop-out/

Herrington, G. (2022). Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse. MDPI Books. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-3721-4

Koffi, L. (2025). Chakras, Alchemy, and Transmutation: A Sacred Journey Through the Seven Gates of Spiritual Fire. Google Play Books. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=MshYEQAAQBAJ